The Devil's Contract
by The Lotus
Summary: 8th and Final Chapter UP! The Final Battle....DUN DUN DUNNNNN!
1. The Inferno Jets

((Authors Note: This is my first JGR fic, and though I show no mercy in my reviews, I'm hoping that you all could cut me a little slack. What do you say?))  
  
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Beat, Tab, Mew, Gum, and Piranha crowded around the small glass skylight on the atop the Inferno Jets base. The Inferno Jets were cruel, heartless rudies. They had put Yo-Yo out of action while was he out on a routine tagging in Benten-Cho. The Inferno Jets had claimed it and Kogane-Cho as their territory, and when they saw Yo-Yo, he had said that 3 of them chased him down an alley and jumped him with the lead pipes spray-painted red that had become their trademark. The GG's had had to take him to a doctor that treated rudies on the side.....he was a former Noise Tank and held a certain sympathy for the fact that rudies could not get medical attention without rousing suspicion for lack of ID, insurance, etc. Even now he was back at the garage, nursing a broken leg, and pretty much every single part of his body bruised.   
  
As Beat stared through the clear glass of the sunroof, he saw the familiar faces of the Inferno Jets.....the leader, Dante, his huge right-hand mountain-man, Grimm, the almost unnaturally endowed Dicey, the aloof Rock, and three others he had not seen before, as well as another, on his knees being held down, his arms wrenched behind his back. He looked even more beat-up than Yo-Yo. Both his eyes had been blacked and a small puddle of blood was gathering on the ground, the thick red liquid dripping steadily from his mouth. Dante was whaling on him repeatedly with the pipe, and he was now almost sweating from the physical exertion. He began moving his mouth, talking, but they could not hear his words. Then, the kid sprang up and delivered a huge punch across Dante's face. Instantly, he was pushed back down and given a few blows across the back of the neck with his captors' pipes. Dante, now sporting a split lip, pulled a small switchblade out of his pocket, and after a slight delay, flipped the blade out and buried it deep into the boy's stomach once....twice...three times.  
  
Mew gasped, covering her mouth and turning and burying her face into Tab's shoulder. She fought back tears, and eventually got up the courage to look back to the gruesome scene.   
  
Just then, the sound of roller blades were heard from down below. "Hello," a voice whispered, "Is anyone here?"   
  
Beat made his way over to the edge of the roof and signaled down to the three and then turned down Mew and Tab. "Get down there and help them out. Piranha, Gum, and myself will go through the skylight. On my signal....."  
  
Cube, Mew and Tab nodded and hopped down off the roof, gathering near the door. "Now!" Beat yelled down to them, and Combo and Slate kicked the door together, flattening it out onto the floor, the other GG's rushing in from behind them. Beat, Gum, and Piranha each kicked at a pane of glass on the skylight, shattering it before jumping down through it and landing in the garage.   
  
On seeing this, the two holding the kid dropped him flat on his face, and along with the rest of the Inferno Jets rushed the GG's, pipes in hand. "Get 'Em!" Dante rushed at Beat, getting in a cheap shot to his gut when he wasn't looking. Beat hunched over and dropped to his knees, looking up through pained eyes at the leader of the Inferno Jets. Dante had that flame-red pipe lifted over his head, ready to dash the life out of Beat. The GG glared up at him angrily, defiant to the last, before a well-placed punch from Combo smashed the Inferno Jet up against a wall. Mew, Gum and Cube were getting the best of Dicey, all taking turns holding her down and punching her. Tab, however, wasn't faring so well. Grimm was swinging his pipe every which way and Tab was dodging as best he could, ducking behind things and chucking random objects at him. Slate and Combo along with a bit of help from Piranha were taking care of the other three. Every time the unnamed Inferno Jets were knocked to the ground, they somehow managed to spring back up and attack the three GG's again.  
  
"Heh. OK Slate, I think it's time to stop playin' with these fools, you know what I'm sayin'?" Combo grinned over at the faceless GG, who gave a stiff nod. Slate wound up and delivered a crushing punch to the temple of one, who flew across the garage and smacked the wall with a sickening thud. Combo grabbed the remaining two and smashed them together with all his strength, the two rudies almost becoming permanently attached due to the sheer force of the blow.   
  
"That was it?" Piranha was smiling almost uncontrollably. "I'd think the infamous Inferno Jets would have put up a bigger fight than this."  
  
"Hmmm," Beat had regained his composure after getting the wind knocked out of him, "that DID seem a bit too easy.....and weren't there more of them? I remember seeing at least ten of them before. Maybe more......I wonder where they-"  
  
"YO!" Combo pointed to the fallen Inferno Jets, who had seemed to recover rather quickly. They were making a hasty retreat, the battered kid slung over Grimm's shoulders. Combo, Slate, and Beat were the first ones to react, rushing towards the already slow man/mountain, now hampered by both his injuries and the unconscious kid slung across his shoulders.  
  
"Forget him!," Dante yelled back at Grimm "We'll find him again eventually, but not with the GG's here. Drop him and let's go!"  
  
Grimm growled loudly, throwing the kid back at the GG's to slow them down, and skated away as fast as he could, clearing out of the garage behind the other Inferno Jets.  
  
"Whoa, GET HIM!" Beat yelled. He knew he was too far away to catch the airborne body.  
  
Combo caught him effortlessly with one arm, slinging him over his shoulder. "Take it easy, kid. I got him."  
  
"Alright, guys, lets get back to the garage," Beat gestured towards the door, "We're taking the kid with us. The Inferno Jets must have wanted him for something....."  
  
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There was more than one of them.....that he was sure of. It had to be more than one that had snuck up on him. It was dark, and he was tagging the area around Benten-Cho. He heard the familiar crackling voice of Onishima as he called for the whole gamut of police units....dogs, tanks, the works. He had ducked into an alley to dodge some SWAT when he saw a flicker in the shadows behind him. He spun around quickly,   
talking into the darkness. "Who's there?"  
  
"Where is it, Rio?" The shadow boomed back at him. "Where's the last piece?"  
  
He backed up involuntarily, a bit nervous. "Where is what," he lied, "I don't know what you're talking about. And how in the hell do you know my name?"  
  
The shadow seemed to grow larger. "Really now, Rio. I don't want to have to use force. Just hand it over, and we'll avoid any.....altercation. You remember what happened when your brother tried to hide it, don't you Rio?"  
  
With those words, he felt rage grow inside of him. "If you want it," he practically screamed, "Come and get it!"  
  
The shadow chuckled. "Very well. Inferno Jets......get him."  
  
He had only time to think "Inferno Jets? Who are they?" before he felt a massive pain on the back his head, before he was out.  
  
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When he awoke, it was to a massive headache. He was aware of two people grasping his arms, not allowing him to move, but he couldn't have even if he'd wanted to. When his blurry vision cleared, there was a grinning face staring back at him. "Wakey wakey. Reconsider telling us where you hid the piece yet?"  
  
"I'll never give it to YOU," he spat.  
  
The grin disappeared, and he gestured to one of his companions, also dressed in a red jumpsuit. He threw a crimson pipe to him, the once-smiling man catching it and looking at him menacingly. Then, without a word, he whacked Rio across the face with the pipe. The ice cold steel bit across his face, and he tasted his own blood flowing freely in his mouth. The man reared back and repeated the move many times, battering Rio's face. He lost count after five, and let himself drift into the sea of pain that engulfed him.   
  
He stood up, the smile now back on his face. "Rio, Rio, Rio.....you could have made this easy....but I see that you persist in making me mad....and when I'm mad, people get hurt....like Jackal....you remember Jackal don't you?" Hearing the name, he surged up, using up all his energy and breaking free of the grasp of the people behind him, punched the grinning man across the face as hard as he could.   
As he was forced back to his knees and was dealt a few blows across the neck, the now-scowling man drew something out of his pocket. "You shouldn't have done that..." was all he said, and he drew back the object and plunged it into his stomach. Knife was the first thing that popped into his head as well as the second and third thing, as the man drew it back and stabbed him twice more. He went numb, feeling the blade bite into his stomach. He knew he was supposed to feel pain, and he was aware of it, but he was beyond pain. He was beyond it all....and he could feel nothing. The last thing he heard was the sound of glass shattering and a door breaking down....then it all went black.  
  
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"Is he gonna be OK?" Mew looked on with apparent concern. They had had to bandage the kid up themselves since the doctor they used for Yo-Yo was out of town, and, though the bandaging was very crude, they had managed to stop the bleeding. He appeared to have a cracked jaw, as well as numerous broken ribs, among other injuries.  
  
"Well, the only thing we can do now is wait," Beat deducted, looking around the room. Piranha and Garam were sitting down on the couch together, while Slate was at his usual place near the pinball machine, taking little or no interest in anything but beating out the machine. Combo was standing over the kid, looking on with hidden concern. Cube was sitting next to the sleeping Yo-Yo, the goth rudie snuggled up next to him. Tab and Gum were out, keeping a lookout/tagging the surrounding Shibuya-Cho area, which had been recently hit by the Inferno Jets.  
  
Slowly, the other GG's dropped off, retreating to their respective sleeping spots, until only Mew, Combo, and Beat were standing vigilant by the injured kid's bedside. When Beat let out a slight yawn, Mew grinned over at him. "Why don't you two go get some sleep. I'll watch him."  
  
Combo quirked a brow at her, but eventually went back to his room, which he shared with Slate. Beat followed suit, going back to the room he shared with Tab and Gum, the largest room in the extremely small (at least for 10 people) garage.  
  
Mew pulled up a chair, staring at him for what seemed like hours before she finally drifted off into sleep...........  
  
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((A/N: Well, how'd you like it? The first chapter of many more to come. A little short, to be sure, but the following chapters will be longer. PLEASE R&R!)) 


	2. Jackal

((A/N: I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed the first chapter of my premiere JGR fic (yes, even  
Disk, who flame-broiled it with his review), and I hope you all enjoy the 2nd chapter.   
  
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For the next few days, the kid drifted in and out of half-consciousness, mumbling half,   
and sometimes whole, words and sentence fragments under his breath both when he was awake   
and asleep. One thing he seemed to say a lot was Jackal, but Beat nor any of the other GG's   
knew who that was. Perhaps another Rudie.....  
  
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Dreams. That's all they were. He knew it, and though most of his dreams made no   
sense at all, there was one that.......   
  
"Where am I," Rio looked around at the rainy streets of Kogane-Cho. Funny. This   
setting seemed awfully familiar.....but he didn't know why.  
  
And just like that he saw it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them. The tall,   
muscular rudie, sporting a goatee and a white muscle shirt, as well as a pair of baggy black pants,  
dragging along a little kid, barely big enough for his skates, behind him, five others chasing after   
him. They all wore matching red jumpsuits, white flame patches sewn onto the bottom of the legs   
and the ends of the sleeves. With the child hindering his speed, it was only a matter of time   
before they overtook the two, knocking the larger man down with a well timed kick to the back.   
Three of them held the larger man down, while another, an exceedingly large rudie, grabbed the kid  
by the back of his shirt, holding firm despite numerous kicks in the shins from the child. The last  
pulled something out of his skate. He couldn't see it, but he knew exactly what it was. A gun.   
The gun that killed his brother. He was far away, but he could make out exactly what they were  
saying.  
  
"C'mon, Jackal, ol' buddy ol' pal. Come on and tell your friend Dante what you did with   
that piece," he smiled, "'Cause if you don't, you know what'll happen, doncha?" Dante clicked the   
hammer of the gun back slowly, giving a malicious glare towards the captive rudie, before pointing  
it towards him.  
  
"Go ahead, kill me," Jackal spat, "I'll never give it to you, you piece of trash!"   
  
The man chuckled, releasing the hammer of the gun and letting it click back to it's  
normal position. "Brave.....very brave, Jackal. I admire bravery. Unfortunatley, it's also the mark   
of complete stupidity. But I don't recall saying that I would shoot you." He whirled around and  
pointed the firearm at the shocked boy. "I'll give you one more chance. Where is it?"  
  
He growled lightly under his breath, knowing what he had to do. "Let him go! Let him go  
and I'll....I'll show you where to find the stupid piece." His voice sounded utterly defeated  
  
Dante nodded, a smug grin covering his face. "Very well. Grimm?"  
  
The huge man released the child, taking a few steps back at the same time to show that  
he was backing off.  
  
"Now, Jackal. Where is the-" he was cut off by a sharp kick in the leg from the captive  
rudie, and an audible snap was heard, as well as a scream that echoed off the brick alley walls for  
miles around....  
  
"RUN, RIO! GET OUT OF HERE!" Jackal took advantage of the distracted rudies,   
kicking out at his captors and tripping them up, leaping to his feet and fighting them off as best  
he could, delivering a punch here, a kick there, and whatever else he could do to get their   
attention.  
  
The boy ran down the twisting streets of Kogane-Cho. He didn't look back once, though  
his eyes were wet with tears, of worry and fear for what he knew would happen to his brother.  
He heard his brother Jackal let out a final command, as loud as he could. "RUUUUNNNNN-"   
the yell was cut off by a loud gunshot, and that was the last he ever saw his brother.....  
  
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"JACKAL, NOOOOOOOOOO," he sat up straight on the couch, panting and sweating,  
looking all around him. He was crying, hot tears streaming down his face. All he saw was the   
inside of what looked like a dimly lit garage, and a girl, wearing a weird blue dress, skates, and   
white and blue makeup all over her face. She was stroking his hair and talking to him soothingly.  
"Shhhhh....shhhhh...it's alright....calm down."   
  
He was still panting, but he consented to lay back down, looking around both with   
suspicion and curiousity. Where was he? Who was this girl? How had he ended up here?  
Who were the people that had beat him up so severely? He had no time to think of the answers  
as the blue-dressed girl put a cup up to his lips. She had said something like "Drink this," but  
he had paid no attention. He was thirsty beyond belief, and he wasted no time downing every  
drop.  
  
"Well," the girl giggled, "you're a thirsty one." Her face then turned solemn. "Are you   
ok? We thought we lost you a few times. Your injuries were pretty severe. Do you remember  
anything?"  
  
Rio ran a hand through his black hair, recoiling after bolts of pain shot up his spine and  
into his forehead. "Agh," he whispered, "my head."  
  
"Oh, you poor thing!" She laid a gentle hand on his chest. "Go back to sleep. You can  
explain everything once you've healed......"  
  
He gladly accepted the invitation, closing his eyes and drifting back into pained sleep.  
  
Mew smiled down at him, pulling the blanket up closer to his chin. She giggled lightly.  
She didn't even get his name.....  
  
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(A/N: Well, there it is. Yes, I know, it was another short chapter, but wrestling practice combined  
with my satanic teachers don't give me much time to write. So though the chapters may be short,  
there will be many of them! They will flow like wine! WAHAHAHAHAHA! um...ahem...  
excuse me. Um.....yeah....PLEASE REVIEW!) 


	3. Secrets Revealed

((A/N: Again, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the 2nd chapter, and I hope you like this 3rd chapter. R&R PLZ!))  
  
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"Don't trust anybody Rio. We can't afford to. Everyone wants that damned record, and it's our job...no, our curse, to protect it. That is our tragic purpose.....our reason for being. We were not meant to be happy, we were meant to be miserable.....forever."  
  
Rio awoke the next day with his brother's words on his mind, laying on a couch with   
several blankets covering him and a lumpy pillow under his head. But he couldn't complain. He hadn't slept on anything so comfortable for as long as he could remember. That girl wasn't there. Too bad, he'd come to get used to her smiling face greeting her when he got up...no. No, he couldn't like her. He had to remember what Jackal said. Even if seeing her made him happy, "We were not meant to be happy". As stupid as it sounded, he had a feeling those words were right. He felt he could trust those words more than anything else.   
  
He sat straight up, ignoring the knives of pain that danced up and down his back and shoulders. He reached over and grabbed his skates, lacing them up quickly before swinging his legs over the side of the couch and standing up. He felt as if they were his first steps, as he almost fell over several times just standing.  
  
"Man, that was cool" Yo-Yo burst in, Slate by his side. "I didn't know you could grind off that rail and onto.....what the?" This last phrase directed at Rio, who was standing only a few feet away, fists suddenly balled and held ready, he himself in a fighting stance.  
  
"Who are you?" Rio's eyes narrowed at the two.  
  
"Well we live here! Who the hell are you?" Yo-Yo shot back.  
  
Slate put a hand on Yo-Yo's shoulder. "Chill. It's just the kid that we brought in. Guess he looks different when he's under a bunch of blankets and unconscious." He looked over at Rio. "So I guess you're feeling better, huh?"  
  
Rio slowly let his fists fall back to his sides. "Yeah, I guess."  
  
The door opened once again. "Man, Yo-Yo, can't you and Slate wait up sometimes? You left us all back there to finish up the tagging while you two just come back here to lounge around and be lazy!" Garam skated in, followed closely by the rest of the GG's, but the two rudies never took their eyes off of Rio, nor did he take his eyes off them. The others stopped in their tracks, following their two fellow rudies' eyes to the kid who had just, two hours ago, when they left, been severly hurt and on their couch.  
  
Rio spoke first. "Thank you," he said, "for taking care of me. I don't know what would have happened had you not.....rescued me. I must go." He turned towards the door.  
  
"Hey! Wait up!" Beat skated into his path. "Mind telling us what you did to piss off the Inferno Jets so bad?"  
  
"Yes. I do. Though I know I owe you an explanation, I can't give you one. I hope you understand."  
  
Beat backed up a few steps, allowing him to get through. "At least tell us your name, kid."  
  
Rio glanced over at the clustered GG's once before opening the door. "It's Rio," he said, walking out and letting the door creak shut behind him.   
  
After a few seconds, Beat spoke up. "OK, Mew, Tab, and Cube. Tail him. Find out where he's going. I have a feeling there's more than meets the eye here."   
  
The three GG's nodded, filing out of the door to follow Rio. Beat's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. He was positive he was right. He has heard the kid say things. Suspicious things. But one thing stood out above all else. He remembered clearly him saying "Devil's Contract"......   
  
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Rio stared up at the twilight sky of Benten-Cho. Though the busy sounds of the ever-midnight city still reached his ears, he barely heard them. He was lost in his own thoughts. "Jackal. Why'd you have to die?" he thought out loud, "You were right, though. Everyone wants the record, but I don't even know where it is. You died without ever telling me, and now people are after me, and they want something I don't even have. But if I told them that, they'd probably kill me. They believe I'm the only one who knows where it is, I guess. You.....you said I'd find the answer within, but....I still don't understand. I thought it sounded corny when you said it, but I have a feeling that.....I don't even know......." Reluctantly, he stood up, still a little sore. He needed something to take his mind off of Jackal. Off of the record. Off that girl. He pulled a spray can out, finding a nearby wall and drawing an intricate tag of two demons both tagging eachother. He didn't know why he drew that. The idea just came to him. He shook his head back and forth a few times, before skating slowly away.   
  
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"Where could he be?" Tab whined, "We've been looking for him for over an hour. He can't have gone too far, after all."  
  
"Aw, quit your bellyachin', Tab. I'm sure we'll find him soon." Cube grinned back over at him.  
  
"Hey, I think....yeah, I see him," Mew pointed down the street, "He's over there, by that wall, tagging. It's about time we caught up to him!"  
  
"He's leaving. Let's go." They skated silently behind him, following at a safe distance of about 20 feet. Suddenly, he stopped. The GG's quickly followed suit, diving behind a nearby mailbox, and peeked over the sides. They heard talking, but couldn't see who it was. They, just like that, they saw them. Five Inferno Jets walked out of the shadows in front of Rio. Mew stood straight up, not sure what she was about to do, when she heard a groan, and saw Tab fall next to her. She turned around just in time to see Cube fall under the blow of an Inferno Jet pipe. The other five Inferno Jets in front of her smiled evilly. She backed up a few steps, yelling into her wrist communicator. "HELP!!" She looked up again just in time to see one of the rudies swing his pipe into her temple. And then everything went black.  
  
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(A/N: So, that was the third chapter. As I said, there will be many chapters, but they will be brief. Enjoy the "short but sweet"ness. Uh....yeah. REVIEW PLZ!)  
  
P.S. There was a glitch in FanFiction.net which cut off my fic about three quarters into it, and if you can read this the error has been corrected. Yay! Well, thanks. Uh....bye. 


	4. A Forced Betrayal

(A/N: Hey all. I'd like to again thank everyone, few though they may be, who has been reviewing my fic. And everyone who has been reading and not reviewing....you can all...uhh...go jump into a big steaming vat of molten lava with a chicken suit on! Yeah! Anyway, on with the chapter.)  
  
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Beat stared into his wrist communicator, brows furrowed, concentrating on it as if he expected to see something. The last thing he'd heard was a cry for help from Mew, and he hadn't heard anything from Cube or Tab. When he finally "snapped out of it" he began yelling into the comm. "Hello? Mew? Respond! Hello?" He stared into it again, waiting for a response.....any response.  
  
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Dante looked down at the three unconscious GGs. It had been too easy, he realized. They had only expected to nab Rio, but three GGs only sweetened the pot. With these three...."disposed of", that left the numbers in his favor. 10 to 7. Chuckling he pulled out a small pistol, aiming it down at the first GG in the lineup....a cute goth wearing mostly black. He clicked the hammer back.  
  
"Hello? Mew? Respond! Hello?" A voice crackled from the other girl's wrist comm.  
  
Chuckling, Dante undid the buckle on it, examining it with little interest before putting it close to his mouth. "Hey there, Beat. Remember me?"  
  
The voice came through again, "Dante? You bastard, what did you do with Mew and the others!"  
  
"Don't worry about it, GG. They're all taking a little beauty rest. And in a few seconds they'll be taking the long one." He chuckled to himself. "I'll even let you listen." He clicked the hammer back, aiming it back down at the goth girl.   
  
A shot rang out, shattering the unusually silent Benten-Cho streets. Dante's head whipped around to the source of the shot. Five of his Inferno Jets were chasing after Rio. Dante cursed his own carelessness. Those fools would never catch him.....the kid was too fast. Not even he could out-skate Rio. Enraged, he turned the gun back toward the GG. He would kill all three of them. He would.....wait. Yes, he would wait. An idea popped into his head. Not only would he kill the GG's.....all of them.....but he would also get Rio. Oh, this was too perfect. He put the comm back up to his lips. "Beat. There's been a little change of plans. Don't talk, just listen. You will find the kid, and you will bring him to me within three, count 'em, three days. That's Saturday at 6 o' clock. If you arrive at 6:01, I will slaughter your friends. If you try anything funny, I will slaughter your friends. Very simple. You can drop the kid off at the Rokkaku construction site in Benten-Cho. And bring all your little GGs. I want to make sure none of them are creeping in the shadows. Tick-Tock, GG, Tick-Tock." Smirking, he pocketed the wrist comm.   
  
"Grimm. Grab those two." He gestured to the goth girl and another rudie wearing a blue jumpsuit and a beanie pulled down over his eyes. "Rock, you grab her," he nodded at the last one, a girl with a blue dress, her face covered in white and blue makeup. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other five skating up to him slowly, panting. He would deal with them later. "All right. Let's go."   
  
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Beat slammed the comm down to the garage floor, yelling out a long stream of obscenities, heedless of the others around him trying to calm him down. "What do you mean 'Chill Out'? You heard him didn't you? If we don't bring him the kid, the same kid that slept on our couch for some 6 weeks, he's going to kill Mew, Tab and Cube!"  
  
"Take it easy, Beat. We'll think of something. Don't worry." Piranha put a hand on his shoulder.   
  
Beat nodded absentmindedly, sitting down. What could they do? If it were anyone else, they could've devised some sort of trick. But Dante was smart. He was too smart. The only thing they could do was.....  
  
"We have to give him the kid." Garam said, as if reading Beat's mind. It's the only way.  
  
Beat looked around, hoping someone would object and think of a better plan, but noone did. He knew, and they knew, that it was the only way. "Alright then," his voice sounded deflated, "we better get going. We have to find him, and we only have three days to do it. Let's start in Benten-Cho." They all nodded, standing and starting to make their way towards the door.  
  
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK  
  
The GGs all froze in their tracks. Beat slid his hand slowly over the doorknob, pulling it open. Rio stood there, his face carefully expressionless. "Hello....." Beat moved aside, allowing him to come in. "Where'd you go? We were looking all over for you."   
  
"I....ran into some Inferno Jets. I managed to escape, but I saw three rudies behind me that weren't so lucky. I believe they were from your gang."  
  
Beat nodded gravely. "Yes, we know. The Inferno Jet leader, Dante, told us that he had them."  
  
"Well, how do you expect to get them back?"  
  
"We......we don't know yet," he lied, "but we'll figure something out. If you'd be willing to help us out, you can stay here in the garage. We have plenty of room."  
  
Rio appeared to think it over for a minute. "Very well. I'll stay and help you rescue the members of your gang. But then I must go."  
  
Beat nodded, though he suddenly looked very sick. "Yeah, sure. After our gang members are back, you'll be gone...."  
  
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(A/N: WHEW! Finally done. Enjoy! I didn't mean to end the chapter this early, but admit it, that line was a perfect suspenseful closing to this chapter. Heh)  
  
  



	5. The Deal Goes Down

(A/N: Hey all. Lotus here. Sorry. No amusing little anecdotes will  
precede this chapter. I'm fresh out. For now. On with the chapter.)  
  
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Over the next few days, the GG HQ seemed to transform totally. There was no   
Jap-Pop or Hip-Hop blaring from their huge speakers. There was no cheerful banter. Not even the random stale joke from Yo-Yo or prank from Garam. No rap blaring from Combo's boom box. No spontaneous raving from Piranha. No late-night running the bases for Beat and Gum. No pinball for Slate. Nothing. They just planned. Rather, they pretended to plan. Beat sent GGs out on fake scouting missions while Rio was around. They seemed to be plotting the perfect rescue operation. When in reality they already had it. Turn in Rio. Betray him. Stab him in the back. Kill him. That's what they were doing. Killing a boy to save three of their own. But killing one rather than  
three was justified......wasn't it?  
  
"OK, so we've got the plan down. Combo, Slate and Rio will come in," Beat pointed to a spot on the Rokkaku Construction Site map, "here, and Garam, Piranha and Gum will come in here, while Yo-Yo and myself will serve as distractions. Take your cues from me and Yo-Yo. Now remember, we're down three GG's, so we won't win an all-out fight. We have to..." his eyes wavered for a second, "be smart. That's the only way   
that we'll be able to get Mew, Cube and Tab back. Is everyone clear? Good. OK GGs,   
lets move out."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Dante checked his watch for the third time in twenty minutes, looking towards the three captive GGs. "Only 20 minutes left" he said, extending his index and middle fingers and pointing them at Mew's forehead.   
  
Mew's eyes narrowed as she spit into her tormentor's face, but remained silent. She would have smacked him, as she was sure her friends would have too, had all their hands not been chained to the wall.   
  
Laughing, Dante wiped the saliva from his cheek, using the other hand to deliver a cruel backhand to the side of her face. " Foolish girl! I guess it's time to let you three in on a little secret, GG. Not only am I going to kill you, but your entire gang as well. As we speak, your friends are walking right into my hands. And that boy....Rio." he leaned close, lowering his voice to a whisper, a malicious grin spreading over his face, "I've got a little surprise for him. Enjoy your last moments alive, kids." He reached over to a nearby table, turning a small radio on. Jurassic 5's "Improvise" filled the room. "See ya." Dante made his way out of the small makeshift holding cell.   
  
"This is terrible," Cube said gloomily, "we have to do something. They're gonna kill our friends! And my widdle fuzzy kitten."  
  
"I'm hungry."  
  
"Shut up and think, Tab!" Mew commanded irritably.  
  
"It's hard to think on an empty stomach."  
  
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The seven remaining GGs plus Rio skated on most of the way in silence. Beat looked over at the young Rio, skating beside him. He was risking his life to help them. Sacrificing seemed a more suitable word. Doing this to a kid....it wasn't right, it wasn't fair. He couldn't do it. He couldn't send a kid ignorantly to his death. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost causing Garam to trip over him.  
  
"Whoa! Hey, whas wrong, Beat. Why you stoppin'?" Garam looked at him through his huge bug-goggles as he and the rest of the GGs stopped and turned to face him.  
  
"Yes, we should get going. The sooner we rescue the others, the better." Rio piped up from next to Combo.  
  
Beat let out a sigh. "Rio, we...." he didn't know how to explain it, "we betrayed you. There is no rescue operation. We were going to hand you over to the Inferno Jets as soon as we got there so they would-"  
  
"Beat, stop." Rio looked away, diverting his gaze from him, "I already know."  
  
"What?!?! But...how? And why didn't you do anything....run away...or...something?"  
  
"After I got away from the Inferno Jets, I looped around and hid out in a nearby alley. I heard everything. Your deal with Dante.....and what he'd do with your friends if you didn't cooperate. And as regards to your second question, to be honest, I don't know. I just knew I couldn't run anymore. And that I couldn't be responsible for three people dying. I at least have a chance, I guess, but your three friends....they don't. That's why I did it, and I'm not sorry I did. If you didn't say anything, I would have. This isn't your fault. It's my decision. So don't feel bad about it. Now, let's go. We don't have much time left. It's 5:50." He turned, skating on towards the Construction Site, the bewildered GGs following close behind him.   
  
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"Dante! They're here." Dicey spoke into her small walkie-talkie as she overlooked the entire site from her spot above a pile of twisted metal. "I see all of them. They've got the kid with them." she chuckled to herself, "they don't have him tied up or anything. They probably lied to him or something. I'm impressed. I didn't think they had it in them. Over."  
  
Dante laughed aloud, looking behind him at the other Inferno Jets. "Do ya hear that? They're all together. This should be easy. Grimm. Rock. Go get the three GGs.  
Bring 'em out here." The two nodded, moving into a nearby room and, after a few minutes, emerging with the three struggling rudies.  
  
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK  
  
"Ah, they're here. It's about time. Blaze. Get the door." The Inferno Jet moved silently over to the door, pushing it open and quickly skating back over to his comrades.  
  
The GGs filed through the door slowly, stopping just inside the building, all of them staring hard at the Inferno Jets.   
  
"Give us our friends, Dante." Beat stepped forward, motioning towards Grimm and Rock, "Tell them to hand 'em over."  
  
"Ah ah ah. Not so fast, GG. First you hand over the kid."  
  
Rio began to make his way over to Dante when Beat stuck his arm out in front of him, blocking his way. "First....our friends."  
  
Dante pulled a pistol out of his pocket, pointing it at Tab and firing. Tab gasped and fell limp in Grimm's arm, his blue jumpsuit quickly being stained with red. Grimm dropped the barely-breathing GG to the ground, looking over to Dante.  
  
"I don't have time to argue about this." Dante smiled, pointing the gun next at Mew.  
"Now...hand over the kid."  
  
Beat lifted his arm, still in shock and looking at the bleeding Tab. His mouth, along with Mew and Cube's, had been taped shut. "OK. We've kept our end of the deal, now keep yours." He nodded to Combo and Slate, who skated forward. Slate gingerly picked up Tab, while Combo took Mew and Cube from the unobjecting Rock.  
  
"Now, we'll be on our way." Beat and the others backed towards the door. They stopped suddenly when they heard the door behind them click. They were locked in.  
  
"I don't think so, GGs." Dante grinned evilly, turning the pistol toward them. "I suppose now would be a good time to reveal our special guest. Come on out, special guest!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rio looked around. What was Dante talking about. What special guest?  
  
Suddenly, a voice rang out from above. "Hello, brother. Long time no see."   
  
Rio's head whipped up toward the rafters, and he saw him. It couldn't be. But it was. His voice was unmistakable. After all these years, he finally saw him crouching on a wooden rafter looking down at him. "Jackal.....it's you...."  
  
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(A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Well, there you have it. The fifth chapter done. Whew. Finally. Hope you liked it. Please review. The sixth chapter will be up soon.)  
  
P.S.-Again, there was a glitch in FanFiction.net and about half of my story was cut off, so, again, if you can read this, it's been restored. 


	6. Demons

(A/N: Hey again. Welcome to chapter 6 of The Devil's Contract. I hope you enjoy this, because many sleepless nights (Ok Ok, it was only 1:00 and I had too much soda) went into the making of it. On with the chapter.)  
  
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Jackal.....it had been.....how long? Years. But yet here he was. Smiling down at him from the rafters of a mostly abandoned Rokkaku Construction Site. But his face...his clothes....they were different. He now wore all black. Even his skates were totally black. And his face....his expression.....he couldn't explain it. He looked......evil.  
  
"What's wrong Rio? You don't greet your big brother after all these years? All I get is a shocked face and your mouth hanging open. You look like you've seen a ghost." Jackal leapt from the rafters, the wooden boards creaking under the impact as he lands inches away from Rio, staring down at him with a twisted smile on his face.  
  
"But....you died. The Inferno Jets killed you." Rio backed up a few steps as he said it, looking at Jackal in disbelief.   
  
"Hey, whas goin' on here? Who the hell are you?" Garam stepped forward, looking defiantly at Jackal.  
  
"Your friends aren't too polite are they, Rio?" Jackal gave his brother a grin before skating in front of Garam, looking him straight in the eyes. "Please take those stupid goggles off, they really annoy me."  
  
Garam lifted his goggles, revealing his bright blue eyes, a sneer on his lips, "I won't ask you again, fool, who the hell are you?"  
  
The black-clad rudie stepped even closer. "My, how impolite. I don't appreciate rudeness." His arm thrust forward, and Garam let out a groan, stumbling back and revealing a red knife handle protruding from his stomach. "Please try to improve your manners next time, GG." He turned his back to Garam and the other GGs, slowly walking back over to the Inferno Jets.   
  
"Garam!" Piranha rushed forward, catching him clumsily as he fell backwards. "Oh my god, are you alright?" She placed her hand on his chest, tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
The other GGs stepped forward, ready to charge Garam's attacker, stopped only by the three pistols drawn and aimed at them by Grimm, Rock and Dante. "Don't move," the Inferno Jet leader grinned evilly at them, "or I'm afraid my boys and I will be forced to kill you before we had planned."  
  
"Now, if there are no more objections, my brother and I will take our leave for now." Jackal placed his hand behind Rio's neck and gave it a light shove towards a nearby door as he leaned in and whispered into Dante's ear quickly, before leading his brother through the door.  
  
"What's this all about, Dante?" Beat spoke up, practically reading the other GG's minds.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Beat," he lied, "I sure wish I could tell you, but until Jackal gets back, you and your little gang are going to have to wait. Oh, and don't think I was kidding when I said we'd kill you if you try anything."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Where are we going, Jackal?" Rio asked from behind his brother.  
  
"You'll see." They skated down the seemingly never-ending hallway in silence until they reached yet another door. It was made of what looked like bone, with two huge tusk-looking things that crisscrossed, barring any entrance. The black-clad Jackal skated up to the door and placed a hand below the crisscrossing bones. The area around his hand glowed a bright crimson and the tusks slowly became untangled, withdrawing to separate doors.   
  
"What? How did you....?" Rio stared on in awe. "How did you do that?"  
  
Jackal chuckled giving him another shove, this one harder than the last. "You'll know soon, brother, you'll know soon."  
  
As Rio entered the room, he was nearly instantly hit with a blast of hot air and a sour, acrid smell that almost knocked him off his feet. It was a cave.....sort of. The walls were made of jagged brown rock, , and there were pits where fires raged, the flames so strong they were almost blue. Within seconds, Rio was sweating so much his shirt began to get damp. It was like hell.........  
  
"Wh....What the..." Rio fumbled through the many questions that wizzed through his brain, finally coming to a single one. "Where are we?"  
  
Jackal was silent at first, simply pacing around deliberately, before turning to face Rio, his arms outstretched as if presenting it as if he would abrand new house. "Welcome, brother.....welcome home."  
  
Rio recoiled, a look of disbelief spreading across his face. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm not surprised that you don't recognize it. It's been too long. Even I had forgotten abut it......before Dante showed me the light. He reintroduced me to what I was put here for." Jackal skated up to Rio, leaning in close and whispering almost vengefully, "He reminded me of my mission." Rio began to speak but was silenced by a raised hand from his brother. "Don't say it. I know what you're going to ask. But our mission is something you must see for yourself. Come, brother, and see the light. Just as I have...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Where the did they go anyway?" Cube whispered into Beat's ear. Combo and Beat were tending to the unconscious Tab's gunshot wound. Mew had sacrificed her striped socks to be torn up and made into makeshift bandages for both Tab and Garam.  
  
"I don't know." Beat replied darkly, still shocked by Tab's injury and how quick Dante was willing to shoot him. "Just....just keep an eye on the Inferno Jets."  
  
Cube nodded, moving over to stand once again by Piranha and Yo-Yo who were tending to Garam, who insisted weakly that he was alright, though he was burning up and his eyes were starting to glaze over.   
  
"I can't take this," Slate whispered more to himself than anyone, though he was far enough from the Inferno Jets that only his fellow GGs could hear him, "they're gonna kill us, and I don't know about you guys but I'm not goin' down without a fight...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rio breathed laboriously, staring hard at his brother, as if looking for something. "What do you mean 'see the light?', he asked, his face a mix of anger and confusion, "and how can you be alive? I.....I heard the gunshot....Dante shot you....and, and even if he didn't, why are you with him now? Why?" he choked back tears, all of his questions coming tumbling out of his mouth at once.   
  
" Why must you continue to bring that up? But as for your other question....actions speak louder than words, brother...." Jackal began to breathe hard. He doubled over and put his hands out in front of him, clenching his fists. Finally, he let out an inhuman cry of pain. Two black wings tore out of his shoulder blades, and claws grew out of his fingertips and elbows. Out of his forehead came two dull-colored horns, blood dripping down from the spots where they had grown......the blood was black.   
  
Rio stood, frozen in shock, looking on at....his brother? "What are you?" he said in an almost inaudible whisper.  
  
"Don't act so surprised, brother." Jackal's mouth moved, yet it didn't sound like him. His voice had gotten deeper, edgier even, and it seemed to fill the entire room. "You, too, are like this on the inside. We aren't human, brother, not even close. We were sent here by Lucifer himself to recapture the Devil's Contract after it was stolen. Those ragtag Inferno Jets were sent here before us, but they couldn't get the job done. So Lucifer sent us. And we did it, Rio, we did it. We had recovered all three pieces within a month, but something happened. To this day, I'm not sure what happened, but we lost our memories. We forgot everything. All we remembered was where the pieces of the record were. Now the Inferno Jets have one, I have one...." he grinned over at his brother, "and you have one. And I will take it upon myself to see that it is returned."  
  
Rio still could not move. His eyes looked pained, and his brain felt fried. This was too much information to absorb. He....was a demon? He was simply a pawn, sent only to recover something for...Lucifer? It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. "No, Jackal. You're lying. I am not....what you are. I'm no demon."  
  
Jackal let out an unamused chuckle, walking slowly over to him, letting a clawed hand rest on his brother's shoulder. He leaned forward, whispering into his brother's ear.  
"I'll prove it to you...." Jackal drew an arm back, his clawed fingers facing toward Rio's stomach. "Now watch closely, this may hurt a bit..." The hand flew forward, toward the young rudie's midsection. At the last second, Rio grabbed the projectile, twisting it back towards it's sender.   
  
He heard the scream before he dared to look. But when he did, what he saw was horrible. The hand-turned-weapon was protruding from Jackal's neck, midnight colored blood pouring out. Rio didn't wait any longer. He dashed for the exit. He threw the door open, sweat pouring off of his face. Keep running. Keep running. Don't stop. There's the door. Don't stop.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"That's it," Slate whispered to the GGs, "I'm goin' for 'em. Give me the word, Beat, and I swear I can at least take down one of 'em."   
  
"Slate. Don't. Move. You're gonna get yourself killed. We'll think of a way out of this."  
  
"No, man. I can't. I'm goin' at 'em. I'm goin." Slate tensed up, staring hard at Dante's grinning face.   
  
The door burst open, slamming against the wall. It sounded like a gunshot. Sounded like. Wasn't. Dante's head whipped around, his and his gang's gazes and guns turning to the sweating, out of breath Rio. That was enough for the GGs. The eight uninjured rudies charged the Inferno Jets. They were outnumbered. But they had the element of surprise. Slate and Combo lashed out at anybody near them, using all their strength and nearly striking their fellow GGs on more than one occasion. Beat, Piranha, Cube, Gum, Mew, and Yo-Yo simply helped out, punching and kicking at the remaining Inferno Jets until they were all sprawled out on the floor, groaning or unconscious.   
  
"Let's hurry up and get the hell out of here. Come on." Beat skated towards the door, trying to open it in vain. It was still locked. "Combo, a little help here?"  
  
The huge rudie nodded, taking a few steps backward before running towards the door and kicking at it with his skate. The door refused to budge at first, but after several joint attempts of Slate and Combo, the door finally succumbed, crumbling into a pile of splinters. Quickly, Combo and Slate lifted their injured brethren, slinging them over their shoulders.  
  
"OK, let's go. Rio, c'mon." Beat stared over at the young Rio, who was sweating uncontrollably and breathing in short gasps. Beat skated quickly over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and practically pushing him out. They skated as fast as they could towards their garage, the sun still bright in the sky of Shibuya-Cho. They never looked back.  
  
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((A/N: WHEW! I'm done. But thats ok, I've still got plenty of energy 'cause I'm totally stoked. I WON MY FIRST WRESTLING MATCH TODAY (real high school wrestling, not WWF crap) AND I AM OH-SO-HAPPY. ahem. anyway....yeah. well, please R&R.))  
  
P.S. Please be honest in your reviews....I have a feeling that there is something amiss with this chapter. Thanks a lot in advance. 


	7. The Challenge

(A/N: Hey all. Two things herald the coming of the seventh chapter of TDC. 1) Sorry it took so long to get this out. I've been distracted a lot lately. 2) In your review, If you have time, please give me your feedback on a new story idea I'm tossing around. I want you to be brutally honest. It's an adaptation of a play we're studying in my English class, Romeo & Juliet. If you like the concept, I'd be grateful for any ideas for it. I'm having a little trouble 'cause I was gonna have Romeo be Beat (of course), but Juliet would be a bit troublesome, what with lack of characters in rival gangs (instead of rival families). Whew that was long. Anyway, enough R&J. On with TDC!)  
  
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After their little "encounter" at the Rokkaku construction site, life went back to normal for the GGs.....almost. They had a new resident in their headquarters, and all he seemed to do was sit down in the same spot on the very top speaker and stare off into space, a pained look on his face. Ever since they had escaped, he hadn't eaten, slept, or drank at all, and only mumbled monosyllabically from time to time. The GGs were very concerned, wondering what happened between him and the rudie that had claimed to be his brother.   
  
Tab and Garam were healing quite nicely, though Garam's wound was infected and had to be treated by the doc. The piece of lead implanted in Tab had to be removed as well, but other than that, time was the only thing between the two rudies skating and tagging once again. Things were pretty much normal for the GGs.....until one day, about a week after their encounter with the Inferno Jets.....  
  
"Yo, what's this?" Yo-Yo stooped down to pick up a note that was laying on the floor next to the back door. "Yo, anyone lose a note?"  
  
"Well why don't you read it and find out?" Slate pointed out, not looking up from the pinball machine, "Could be something good."  
  
"Oh yeah!" Yo-Yo unfolded the note, skimming down it quickly. His face distorted in surprise. "No...way. GUYS! GET OUT HERE, YO!"  
  
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So long...it had been so long. Rio wracked his brain thinking about it. Why had he come back now? And allied with the Inferno Jets, those cruel rudies who hadn't given a second that to shooting or stabbing those GGs. Jackal wasn't like that......was he? No. That wasn't Jackal. It couldn't have been. Jackal was kind. Always had been. He wouldn't harm a fly. Seven years was a long time. Seven long years he had been on his own. Now he was fifteen, and he could still remember his fallen brother perfectly. And there was something he couldn't describe, some....feeling, yes, that's what it was. There was a certain feeling that had told him that that was Jackal. The same person who had turned into some sort of demonic creature before his very eyes.   
  
The GGs had put him up for.....he didn't know how long. Could have been weeks as far as he was concerned. He paid no attention to the time, just spent time in deep thought aloof from the others. Many of them had tried to console him, not even knowing  
his sorrow. What if Jackal was right, though? What if he, too, was one of those demon things?  
  
".....GUYS! GET OUT HERE, YO!" Yo-Yo's yell echoed off the walls of the garage, the other GGs quickly dashing to the main room, looking around, expecting an attack or of some sort  
  
"What's up, Yo-Yo?" Beat asked, finally, now wondering what he called them all out here for.   
  
Saying nothing, Yo-Yo simply handed the letter over to him. Beat read down it slowly, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise halfway, and staying up as he read the last of it. "Guys....you better read this for yourself...." he handed it over to Gum, as the other GGs crowded around her as she read it aloud.  
  
"Well GGs, I bet you think you're pretty slick after last week's "incident" at the Rokkaku site. But I have news for you. It isn't over, not by a long shot. I challenge you, all of you, to a fight between my gang and yours. The losers will be banished from Tokyo forever. As it should have been long ago. It would have saved me a lot of trouble, but it is of no matter. Soon, Tokyo-To will be mine. And you will be gone. Meet us tomorrow at 5 at the Shinjo lot in Kogane-Cho. A suitable site for Shibuya's former gang's end. Oh, and bring the kid with you.....I know someone who would just love to see him again.   
  
-Dante"  
  
"I say we take 'em up on it, yo!" Yo-Yo spoke up, practically taking the words out of his fellow rudies' mouths, "How 'bout ya'll?"  
  
A murmur of consent flooded through the garage.   
  
"I'm coming too," Rio hopped down from his perch atop the speakers, "I've got to stop my brother. No matter what the cost."   
  
"Well then it's decided," Beat grinned, "Tomorrow, we rid Tokyo of the Inferno Jets for good."   
  
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(A/N: Whew, one more chapter to go. Now now, I know I know, I'm sad too. Just don't go and do anything too crazy before my next fic comes out, alright? Heh.) 


	8. The Final Battle....

(A/N: And here it is. The last chapter. I'd like to thank all of you who joyfully reviewed my first JGR fic. I hope to be writing more in the future. ON WITH THE CHAPTER!)  
  
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"No way, man. We're going, and that's that!" Tab and Garam glared over at the distressed Beat, their brows furrowed in fury, "We aint just gonna sit around while you guys go out there and fight those bastards when you're outnumbered. We can do something!"  
  
"Guys, I know how you feel, but I don't want you two to get hurt worse than you already are. Yeah, you're getting better, and yeah, you can still skate, but I guarantee that you are the first ones they'll go after. You aren't that quick in your condition, and I'll be willing to bet you'll be on your backs before you know it. I just have a feeling these guys have more on their mind then just beating us. I think they may just try to take us out."  
  
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Tab and Garam won, of course, and were allowed to join their fellow GGs as they skated on in silence toward the Shinjo lot. Beat just hoped they didn't end up dead...  
  
"We there yet, yo?" Yo-Yo piped up once again.  
  
"For the fifth time in ten minutes Yo-Yo, no we are not there yet." Gum shot back at him, "We still got a good half-hour to go. We have to...." she lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned over near him, "We gotta go slow for Tab and Garam."  
  
"I heard that."  
  
"Shup Tab" (A/N: No, that isn't a typo.)  
  
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"What is he doing over there?" Dicey whispered to Dante, quirking a brow over at Jackal, who seemed to be talking to himself in a corner.  
  
"What do you think he's doing, Dice? He's talking to the boss."  
  
"About what, might I ask?"  
  
"How the hell should I know? I don't give a damn about what I do. Soon as he gets the last piece from the kid, then we'll be able to use the Contract for our own.....purposes." Dante let out a chuckle, putting an arm around Dicey. "Hell wil be ours for the taking. And Lucifer will finally be put in his place.... "  
  
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"How much longer, yo?" complained Yo-Yo  
  
"I swear, Yo-Yo," Gum glared over at him, "if you don't shut up I'll-"  
  
"Hey, we're there. Keep it down." Combo looked expressionlessly over at the two.  
  
"Got it."  
  
The gang skated slowly towards the lot, past what looked like to be the remains of a door, into a huge broken down building. The place was gigantic. "This place is bigger than a Home Depot." Slate commented.  
  
"Glad you like it," a voice boomed from above them, "for it will be your grave."  
  
The GG's collective head snapped up towards the roof. Rio's eyes narrowed at the   
shadowed figure above them. "Jackal..."  
  
"Hello, brother. So glad to see you again. And you with the GGs still? Haven't you told them about your little secret? No doubt they would have thrown you out by now if you had."  
  
Slowly, the rudies' eyes all shifted back down to the young Rio, who was still glaring up at his brother, his breathing hard and audible. "No. I'm not like you Jackal. I'm not!" he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than his brother.  
  
"What is he talking about Rio?" Mew asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.  
  
"Ha. I knew you wouldn't tell them. Well, then, as a parting gift, the last you'll ever receive, I will show you."  
  
Suddenly, Rio stumbled back, writhing in pain, his teeth gritted. "My.....head..."  
  
"What are you doing to him?!?" Beat demanded, yelling up into the dark rafters above.  
  
"Oh, please, GG. I'm not going to kill him....yet. You will know soon enough. Just watch....  
  
The GGs turned, staring concernedly at the young rudie.   
  
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Pain shot through his entire body. Bolt after bolt of searing, blinding pain hit him one after another. It seemed to last forever. Slowly, the pain seemed to ebb away, and he saw, blurrily, the GGs staring at him, shocked looks on their faces. He couldn't look at them. It hurt too much. He let his neck relax, his head hung limp, and he was looking down at his clenched hands. No....not his. Those hands weren't his....those hands had claws growing out of the fingers. Like Jackal's. Twisting his head around, he saw what he feared the most. His elbows, too, had dark horns growing from them. Suddenly, the top of his forehead began to itch, like there was a fly crawling around on it. But he knew it was no fly. He felt the sticky warmth, and saw the dark liquid drip down his face, past his red-rimmed eyes. It was blood. Black blood. So it was true all along. Everything Jackal had said.....all true.  
  
"So you finally see, brother. I was right all along. You should have known better than to doubt me." There was a blur above them, and the shadowed figure leapt from the rafters, landing with a huge THUD on the creaky wooden floorboards below their feet.  
Jackal.....in his demonic form.  
  
"Damn, yo. Way too many freaks up in here. I's freakin' me out, yo." Yo-Yo looked from Rio to Jackal, fear plainly showing in his face.  
  
"Come, brother. Let us leave these wayward rudies to their fates....." Jackal smirked at the GGs. "Do not worry. The Inferno Jets will be here momentarily to dispose of you for good."  
  
Rio had managed to get up to a knee, a pained expression on his blood-streaked face, as if gravity were pushing him down and it hurt just to get up. "I'm....I'm not going anywhere with you."   
  
Jackal rolled his eyes, before letting out a quick chuckle. "Oh, please, not this again, Rio, I'm really getting tired of it. You are coming with me whether you like it or not." He held up his middle finger and thumb and snapped. It was an insignificant gesture. But....  
  
Rio felt himself lift up off the floor. His eyes widened as he kicked and struggled against it, as he floated towards his brother.   
  
"Much better."  
  
The GGs stood in shock at what they were seeing, before Gum snapped them out of it. "Get back here!" she yelled, dashing after the two.   
  
"Stop right there GG." Jackal turned toward her, glaring at her with his black-pupiled eyes. Screeching to a halt, she did her best to look back at him, unafraid, though unsuccessful. "You have bigger things to worry about. Foolish girl. INFERNO JETS! ATTACK!" With that command, he simply walked off, his brother in tow. The two walked down a staircase, and disappeared into the darkness below...  
  
"What'chou think he was talking about, yo? I don't see no Inferno Jets. How 'bout ya'll?" Yo-Yo glanced all around the place, which had ample hiding spots, but no signs of life.   
  
"I see 'em!" a voice called  
  
"Really, yo? Where?"  
  
"Right behind you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Do you accept it now, brother? Do you accept who you are....what your purpose on this pathetic earth is?" Jackal continued to descend down the long, winding staircase.  
  
".....yes....."  
  
"Good. But even if you didn't, it matters not. Now that you are in your true form, I can finally fulfill our mission." He finally stopped as they arrived at a set of wooden double doors, dingy and cracked. Jackal held a hand out to them and they crumbled inward, collapsing like a house of cards. Calmly, he walked into yet another unusual setting.   
  
An ordinary room. Four plain walls, a floor, and a roof. Absolutely normal, save for the huge hole that blazed with hellfire located in the middle of the room. "The passage home, Rio." he snapped once again, and Rio fell abruptly to the floor, before scrambling up.   
  
"Why are we here? Are we going....there?" Rio asked, keeping his eyes locked on Jackal's still-turned back.  
  
"Back home? No, not quite. I won't be going there for quite a while, and you..."  
he turned to face his younger brother, an evil grin upon his face, "you will not be going there at all." There was another blur, and suddenly Jackal was right in front of him. It was only seconds later that he felt it. A sharp pain in the pit of his stomach. Looking down, he saw blood gushing from his stomach, as well as an arm protruding from it. Looking weakly back up at his brother's smiling face, he tried to speak, but it only came out as a faint whisper. "W....why?"  
  
Another blur and Jackal held before him a piece of what looked like a record, soaked in dark-colored blood. "You'll find the answer within, Rio," Jackal mocked, "remember?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"WATCH OUT!" Piranha yelled out as the Inferno Jets charged in at them. They seemed to be coming from everywhere. "IT'S AN AMBUSH!"  
  
"Really, P? Hadn't noticed, thanks."Yo-Yo replied sarcastically, trying to dodge the oncoming attacks. All hell had broken loose, but one thing was clear. There were more than ten Inferno Jets here. A lot more.   
  
"Looks like these boys did some recruiting in their spare time." Gum commented, throwing punches at one of the Inferno Jets. Tab and Garam were teaming up on them, obviously aware that they wouldn't do all that good one on one against someone. Yo-Yo was using the duck-and-run technique, luring unsuspecting Inferno Jets into Combo's devastating attacks. Piranha and Mew were chasing after a fleeing Dicey, while Cube wasn't faring so well against two Inferno Jets that had decided to copy off of Tab and Garam's moves. Slate was engaged in what looked like a "Mercy" match with Grimm, while Beat and Dante were in an all out brawl, punching, kicking, even biting.   
  
"We got this one in the bag, yo!" Yo-Yo said with satisfaction, leading yet another Inferno Jet into a one way trip to unconsciousness. Many Inferno Jets were sprawled out on the floor already, but some of the GGs already began to feel the pains of battle. Slate was favoring his left arm, while Piranha was crouching in a corner behind Tab and Garam, who were determined to protect their injured comrade. Gum, too, seemed to be hurt, as she limped along as opposed to skating, but still fighting off the oncoming Inferno Jets as best she could.   
  
With a final hook from Beat, and a swing from Combo's boombox, all of the Inferno Jets had been knocked out.   
  
"Alright," Beat gasped, almost totally out of breath, "Let's hurry up and go pay that guy Jackal a visit, and go save Rio."  
  
"Hold up, yo? Did you not see that kid?" Yo-Yo shot back, "He turned into some sorta devil-thing like ten minutes ago, and you wanna go save him? Are you crazy? I vote we stay out of devil affairs."  
  
"No way, man. We gotta go. You saw how freaked he was. He ain't like that. Now let's hurry up before we're too late." Beat dashed toward the door, throwing it open and stomping down the steps, followed closely by the remaining GGs. Even Yo-Yo.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Now, brother, now you will see the true power of this record." Taking the bloody record piece, he moved over near the huge hole. Reaching into his pocket, he produced two more pieces, which seemed to glow with a crimson hue.   
  
"Wh....what...are you....going...to..do...?" Rio choked back a mouth full of blood.  
  
Suddenly, the GGs ran in through the open door, all taken aback by the sight that greeted them. One demon standing over another   
  
"Ah, look who it is. I knew those worthless Inferno Jets would be defeated, but I expected it to be longer than this. But it is of no concern. Now you all may witness my triumph....." moving over to the pit, he joined the three pieces of the record. Crimson light filled the room, as Jackal raised the completed record above his head. "Hear me, Lucifer!" he screamed down into the fiery pit, "Hear my wish, and know that it is your undoing!"  
  
"What the hell is he doing, yo?" Yo-Yo's eyes were wide with terror as he looked on.  
  
Jackal's head turned, now looking at them. "I will rule all of the underworld. And from there, I will invade Tokyo. Noone will be able to stop me! Noone." He let out a demonic laugh as he turned back to the pit. "Lucifer, hear my wish! I wish to rule-"  
  
"NO! Jackal, stop!" Rio struggled to his feet, hand on his stomach, blood oozing in between his fingers, as well as dripping out of his mouth, "Don't do this. Brother......please."  
  
"Pah. You are too weak, coward. I will rule everything. And you....you, I will kill myself." Jackal never diverted his gaze from the pit, even as he said it. "NOW! On with my.....request. I wish to rule the Underworld!"  
  
As he said it, the ground beneath them began to rumble. The walls vibrated, and began to crack and splinter. The roof began to fall apart. Rio knew what he had to do. He turned to the shocked GGs, a faint smile on his face. "Thank you," he said, "thank you for everything." Turning back to Jackal, he rushed forward, spearing his brother and falling into the pit along with him.  
  
As suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped. The earthquake ceased, and the huge pit began to close slowly. Mew stepped forward, tears in her eyes. "He...he sacrificed himself."  
  
"An' in a roundabout way, he saved us all." Combo said silently, "You heard that guy. he said he was gonna invade Tokyo. That kid Rio deserves our thanks...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Somewhere in the Underworld.............  
  
"So, Jackal," a voice boomed, "You wanted to....get rid of me, did you?"  
  
"No, no. It wasn't me," the demon pleaded, on his knees, "it was the Inferno Jets who talked me into it. Blame them!"  
  
Flames surrounded him and began to close in on the wayward demon. "I think you are lying, Jackal. I don't like lyers, and I have an eternity to prove it to you. I will make you scream your throat raw every day from now to eternity....."  
  
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(A/N: First off, no, I don't know how to spell lyers. Second, YAY! I'm done! I know the ending, as well as the entire last chapter is sketchily written, so please don't hesitate to tell me so. You can't hurt my feelings! Nyah Nyah! :P Heh. Thanks again for reviewing. See ya.) 


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